Heartbeats Across Time

Standing at Preethi's grave, my world collapsed. I had let her go, and even though our love was unspoken, we both knew it was real. I clenched my fists, regret twisting deep inside me.

"𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙'𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙," I whispered, each word carrying the weight of my mistake. "𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚... 𝙢𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙'𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩."

Lost in grief, I barely noticed Praveen approach. His gaze was cold, anger simmering beneath it, yet he said nothing-maybe he saw that his words couldn't cut deeper than the ache I already felt. Then Prem walked up, placing a steadying hand on my shoulder. As Praveen's gaze shifted to the woman and child nearby, Prem gently introduced them. Shock flashed across Praveen's face, while for me, it felt like a blow.

Did Preethi believe I'd left her for someone else?

"𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩... 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙄'𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧," I muttered, my voice breaking.

Praveen finally spoke, voice low, reluctant. "Akhil, Preethi's death wasn't from a broken heart. Her last wish was... for me not to say more."

I stared, his words twisting like a knife. Even with everything I had, I couldn't give her what she truly needed: me. The silence was unbearable, questions tearing through me. I rushed after him, desperate. "Why didn't she reach out? Why didn't she want me to know?"

But fate struck first. A car hit me, pain and numbness blurring everything. As I lay there, barely conscious, a strange calm washed over me. A figure emerged through the haze, voice steady.

"Akhil," they said, "I can offer you a way to change it all... to reclaim what you've lost."

Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional. Any similarity to real people, places, or events is coincidental. The book covers mat